Collating machine



Nov. 19, 1940.

w. D. WARNER COLLATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-sneet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1940 1940- w. D. WARNER COLLATING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZZZ/672 atentecl Nov. .19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE comma MACHINE Wilbur 1). Warner, Chicago, Ill. Application February a, 1940, Serlal No. 311,037 '1 Claims. .(or 270-58) This invention relates to an apparatus for collating sheets of paper.

Heretofore, sheets of paper have been collated entirely by hand or by the aid of complicated and rather costly apparatus. vOne such. prior art apparatus comprises an electrically driven turntable. onwhi ch the stacks of sheets to be collated are positioned. In the operation of this device, an operator stands at a fixed station adlo iacent to the turntable and picks ofliand collates the top sheet from each stack as the stacks "are" carried. before him by the rotating turntable.

Aside from the-matter of initial cost, these prior art'collating devices areobiectionable bel5 cause of their size and the consequent require ment for a large operating space and because "they cannot be operatedeconomically. A further objection resides in the fact that they tend to break down, thereby necessitating costly repairs up and delays.

The collating machine in accordance with the present invention is a simple, inexpensive and compact apparatus which is free from the .ob-

jections attendant to the prior art apparatus.

25 "there is very little likelihood of breakdown, but

should such breakdown occur, repairs can be made quickly and inexpensively, thus avoiding undue and costly delays. The present invention has many-other advantages which will be apparent from the ,following description.

The collatingmachine in accordance'with the present invention comprises, in general, a plu-. rality-of trays or shelves designed to support a plurality of individual stacks of sheets to be col- 35 lated and a simple, mechanically operable mechdill anism designed to eject individual sheets i'rom the topsof the individual stacks and feed them 'iorwardlyto the desired collating position 30 that they may be thus readily grasped by the operator.

The present invention will be fully understood from the followings-detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my invention.v It is, of

course, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the details of the s eciiic.

mechanism shown and herein described sinc this mechanism may be varied ratherz widely, as desired, .withoutdeparting from the principle of operation and front the scope of the appended- W claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is avertical elevationalview of my collating machinejwith parts broken away, sulh stantially along the lines i- -l of Fig. 3 and show- '55, log, the sheet electing mechanism in the initial operative position, themidsection of my machine being eliminated;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, similar-to Fig. 1,, but showing the position of the mechanism after the individual sheets have been ejected from the 6 individual stacks; and

, Fig.3 is a transverse sectional view through my apparatus taken substantially along the lines 3-3oIFig.1. n

In the drawings there is shown-a framework, 10 suitably of wood, metal or the like, comprising a base "I, a side wall 12 extending substantially the length of the base, back wall II anda short side wall i6 extending a short distance forto permit free access to the interior for the pur-' pose of placing and arranging the stacks of paper sheets IE, to be collated in the desired position;

A partition I8 is provided between walls 12,16 to house the operating mechanism and toserve as a back stop for the stacks of sheets. Preterably, the partition as inclinedand as shown in the drawings the inclination extends toward the rear "wall as the top of the machine is lap-: pr ach'ed. The partition or back stop It is slotted su stantially throughout its length, as at 2B.

A plurality of trays or shelves Hare secured to wallvi2 andpartition IBjone above the other.

of sheets; As shown, shelves 22 are incllnedupwardly towards the front of the machine and may form an angle of less than 90 with back stop l8. By virtue of. this construction, a stack of sheets when positioned on a platform, as shown, will be 5 ,cracked 'or riiiied, thereby removing the normal tendency of some of the sheets to adhere one to the other. This tendency is particularly manifest if the edges of the stack of sheets have been cut or sheared. This cracking of a stack of sheets may also be effected if the shelves form with the back stop an angle of greater. than'QUf and such construction may be used, if desired. Obviously, of course, shelves, 22 may be normal to back stop i8, but in such construction cracking of the 25 to operate the device in a manner to bede- I5 their pivots.

arms"38 and 39. It is now apparent that upon downward movement of lever 32, shafts 25 and 36 are caused to rotate simultaneously in a c0unter-clockwise direction. The rotation of these shafts serves to exert a lateral component 'of force on the main operating bar 42, through the medium of the, crank arms 44 and 45, and causes bar 42 to move towards the front of the apparatus in a vertical plane., As shown, one extremity of each crank arm 44 and 45 is keyed to shafts 25 and 36, respectively,- and the other extremity of each crank arm is pivotally secured to main bar 42 as at 46 and 41.

A plurality of pusher arms 49 are pivotally se-' cured to main bar 42 as-at 5|] and serve to eject the top sheets of paper from the stacks onbeing pushed forward by themainbar. These pusher arms extend through slot 20 in back stop I8 and normally rest on the top of the stacks l5; there being one such arm for eabh stack. Arms 49 are designed to have a free vertical movement about The free end of each arm 49 is upcurved as at 52. end is knurled or serrated as at 53 so as to grip or catch the paper on forward movement of the arm and thereby eject the top sheet and to slide over the sheet on backward movement of the arm.

In operating my apparatus to collate sheets from a plurality of stacks of sheets, the stacks are placed on the platforms, one stack on each plat.-

'form, and squared against sidewall I2 and back stop It to crack'the sheets., Arms 49' are placed on the tops of ,the stacks and lever 32 is depressed to cause the arms to push the individual top sheets 55 forwardly from the stacks to the position shown in Fig. 2." In this position, the sheets may be removedreadily by the operator. On re.-

lease of lever' 32, arms 49slide back over ejected sheets 55 and return to the initial starting position shown in Fig. l ready to eject the succeeding 1 top sheets. It is, of course, apparent that arms 49 drop down, by their own weight, as the thickness of the stacks diminish by virtue of the ejection of successive top sheets and hence the arms always return in proper operative relation with respect to the top sheets in the stacks until all' of the sheets have been ejected.

In order to avoidthe possibility of an ejected sheet or sheets being pulled back by arms 49 on rearward movement thereof I'provide retaining' fingers 51, one' for each stack, which hold the Fingers 5'I'follow the stacks of diminishing thicknesses down in the-same manner as described above inconne'ction with arms 49.

While I have described my device as being operated bya hand lever, it is, of course, manifest The underside of each upturned that my device may be operated by a foot pede through suitable linkage, or it may be driven electrically, as desired. Back stop l8 may be positioned normal to the base or it may be entirely omitted without affecting the operation of my device. Also, if desired, shelves 22 may be positioned horizontally. This latter positioning of the shelves is particularly desirable where the back stop is dispensed with.

. I claim:

1. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality of individual stacks of paper sheets one above the other, a pusher arm resting on the top of each stack, means to urge said arms forwardly and thereby eject the individual sheets from the tops of the individual stacks and feed them forwardly to the desired collating position and means for preventing said ejected sheets from being carried backward onto the stacks.

2. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality of individual stacks of paper sheets one above the other, a pusher arm resting on the top of each stack, means to urge said arms forwardly and thereby eject the individual sheets from thetops of the individual stacks and feeds them forwardly to the desired collating position said means comprising a plurality of restraining fingers pivotally secured at one end to a stationary support, each of said fingers having a free end adapted to engage the top sheet of an individual stack. 7

3. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality of individual stacks of paper sheets one above the. other, an operating bar, a plurality of pusher arms pivotally secured at one end to said bar, each of said arms having a free end adapted'to rest on the top of an individual stack. means to urge said arms. forwardly and thereby eject the individual sheets from the tops of the individual stacks and feed them forwardly to the desired. collating position and means for preventing said ejected sheets from being carried backwards onto said stacks, said means comprising a plurality of individual restraining fingers pivotally secured at one end to astationary support, each of said fingers having a free end adapted to engage the top sheet of an individual stack, said arms and said fingers being adapted to have an unrestrained movement in a plane about their pivots.

4. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality of individual .stacks of paper vertical sheets one above the other, an operating bar, a

plurality of pusher arms pivotally secured'at one end to said bar, each of said arms having a free end adapted to rest on the top of an individual stack and means to urge said arms forwardly and thereby eject the-individual sheets from the tops of the individual-stacks and feed them for.- wardly to the desired collating position, said means including a pair of rotatable shafts,'one above the other, and a pair of crank arms, each crank arm being fixedly secured at one end to a single shaft and the other ends of said arms being pivotally secured to said bar.

5. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality'of individual stacks of'paper sheets, a plurality of pusher arms ganged together, each of said arms having'a free end from the tops ofthe individual stacks and feedv ing a plurality of individual stacks of paper sheets one above the other, a plurality of pusher arms ganged together, each of said arms having a free end adapted to rest continuously on the top of an individual stack, means to urge said arms forwardly. and thereby eject the individual sheets from the tops of the individual stacks and feed them to the desired collating position and means for preventing said ejected sheets from being carried backward onto the stacks.

7. In a collating machine, means for supporting a plurality of individual stacks of paper sheets one above the other, a plurality of pusher arms ganged'together, each of said arms having a free end adapted to rest continuously on the top of an individual stack, means to urge said arms forwardly and thereby eject the individual sheets from the tops of theindividual stacks and feed them to the desired collating position and means for preventing said ejected sheets from being carried backward onto the stacks, said means comprising a plurality of restraining fingers pivotally secured at one end to a stationary support, the other end of each of said fingers being adapted to engage continuously the top sheet of an in dividual stack.

WILBUR D. WARNER. 

